Tamils may have lost the battle but will win the war: Delhi convention on UN report

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 May 2011, 00:39 GMT]
While the Sri Lankan media view that the UN panel report has provided the Indian establishment with new bargaining power and facilitates the ‘shopping list’ of the officials from the Indian establishment visiting Sri Lanka soon to go beyond KKS harbour in Jaffna and Champoor power station in Trincomalee, a convention organized in New Delhi by the Delhi Tamil Students Union Thursday, resolved that action should come out of the report at the international level, genocide in the island should be recognized, Indian government should come out with a white paper of its own dealings and all democratic forces in India should raise concern over the happenings in the island. The participation of the convention by progressive forces of India generates hopes that the situation will not be hijacked, commented Eezham Tamil political circles.
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SLA in Vanni alleged of using forced labour

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 23:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army in Vanni is forcing the Tamil civilians, who visit Vanni to see their kith and kin in Mullaiththeevu district from other parts of the island, to work in the SLA-run projects. Failing to do so they are warned and their relatives in Mullaiththeevu are being interrogated by the SLA intelligence unit, according to affected victims.
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Nothing will happen by some welcoming UN report: Basil Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2011, 18:50 GMT]
Sri Lanka President’s brother and SL Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made an unannounced sudden visit to Jaffna Monday. Nothing will happen by some welcoming the UN panel report and ‘Tamils should not play treachery by betraying the country for a few thousand dollars,’ Basil Rajapaksa who was carrying a ‘special message’ from Mahinda Rajapaksa to the people of Jaffna said, while addressing a meeting at Maaviddapuram. Basil’s ‘message’ implied a warning against any evidence going out of Tamils in Jaffna on the war crimes and genocide committed on them, news sources in Jaffna said.
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SL minister intimidates resettled in Vanni to sign against UN report

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2011, 12:55 GMT]
Similar to the show of a group of Sinhala thugs forcing passers by to sign petition against UN panel report in Jaffna city Sunday, a Sri Lankan minister CB Ratnayake lead the occupying military and military intelligence personnel to intimidate the resettled Eezham Tamils in Vanni to sign a petition Saturday and Sunday. Members of village and civil society institutions were summoned over the phone by the military to bring people to Ki’linochchi town and when they gathered, the group lead by Ratnayake forced them to sign the petition. The military deployed in the streets in large numbers saw to it that no one escapes signing.
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Sinhalese stage anti-UN demonstration in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 May 2011, 01:31 GMT]
In a comic show of events, Sinhalese thugs bought from the south staged a demonstration in Jaffna Sunday, against the UN panel report calling for war crimes investigation. In several places in the Jaffna city they were seen forcing passing by people to sign petitions and those who refused were chased and manhandled by the military intelligence accompanying the ‘demonstrators.’ Even a reputed Catholic priest was not an exception, news sources from Jaffna said. While Tamils have to build up their own democratic polity for ‘reconciliation’ within a ‘united’ island is the reiteration of the US Asst Secretary of State Robert Blake, the Indian National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon’s position is that why should there be any qualms in Tamil Nadu when Eezham Tamils and Sinhalese make ‘home-made solutions’ in the island.
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War crime, genocide case against Rajapaksa placed in Norway courts

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 May 2011, 00:06 GMT]
Leading Norwegian Lawyer on Human Rights, Harald Stabell, has filed a case under the Norwegian national law, against the Sri Lankan President and Commander-in-Chief of the SL armed forces, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and former Sri Lanka Army commander Sarath Fonseka, now in Rajapaksa's custody, and several other SL commanders, for allegedly committing War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide against Eezham Tamils. The case is filed on behalf of the Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils (NCET) and 15 affected Norwegian Tamils. Following the latest revelations by the Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim in Norwegian national media NRK about his knowledge of the white-flag surrender, which turned into a war crime, the lawyers have indicated to the Chief Prosecutor of Norway that evidence may be sought from Mr. Solheim.
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Blake’s visit follows Maldives ditching UN panel report

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 May 2011, 16:30 GMT]
The Maldivian foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem told journalists in Colombo that the UN report into human rights abuses in the closing days of Sri Lanka’s civil war is “singularly counterproductive,” reports Minivan News, an independent news service from Maldives, Saturday. Maldives is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council. This week, the US Asst. Secretary of State Robert Blake, after closeting with Sri Lanka’s defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made a three-day visit to the Maldives. Eezham Tamils in UK, who support the Conservative Party that has considerable influence in deciding the foreign policy of Maldives should take a special note of what the Maldivian foreign minister has said, commented a diaspora political observer.
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India, SLA, have occupation blueprint for northern coast of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 May 2011, 08:57 GMT]
By maintaining silence, and covertly working against war crimes investigation on Sri Lanka, India bargained Colombo’s cabinet approval for its hold on the KKS harbour of Eezham Tamils, political observers in Jaffna said. The SL cabinet has approved a proposal by Rajapaksa to develop KKS harbour with Indian aid and a MoU is to be signed soon with Indian government, Deccan Herald reported Thursday. Meanwhile, SL Army physically being inducted in building blocks for a reputed school in the area sets dangerous precedence for prolonged military rule over Eezham Tamils by the occupying Sinhala Army, and shows long-term occupation interests of the military in that particular region, political observers in Jaffna further said.
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Powers, corporate interests behind personal wars in The Hindu

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 May 2011, 10:53 GMT]
“In a shocking display of bad faith,” N. Ram, who has become the Editor in Chief of The Hindu in 2003, “by stealth,” postpones his retirement agreed upon last year, and “seems bent on taking all the editorial directors—most are in their 50s--into retirement with him with a scorched earth policy to ensure that no one in the family succeeds him,” accuses N. Ravi, who is the Editor of The Hindu since 1991, writing an open letter to media brethren in April in The Hoot, the website of the New Delhi-based Media Foundation. However, Ravi’s long list of accusations that include the projection of Ram as pro-left/ pro-China, has no reference to the role he played against Eezham Tamils, suggesting, Ravi and Ram as well as the forces behind them are the same on the question of the liberation of Eezham Tamils, commented diaspora media circles.
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Canadian Tamils chose to desert Liberals in favour of Leftists

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 May 2011, 06:17 GMT]
Scarborough's Tamil community had chosen this campaign to desert the Liberals. "That community turned against us completely and some of us paid the price," said six-times winning Liberal candidate John Cannis, who lost his seat in the general elections in Canada this week in Scarborough Centre parliamentary constituency. Meanwhile, according to Rathika Sitsabaiesan, who won the Scarborough-Rough River constituency for the leftist New Democratic Party, in the last days of Sri Lanka's civil war in May 2009, Liberal politicians had not appeared to support protestors on Toronto's University Avenue or on Parliament Hill in Ottawa where, she said, only the NDP leader Layton came to address the crowd, reports Mike Adler in Inside Toronto.com, adding that "Liberal MPs at the time said they didn't want to appear because protestors were displaying flags of the banned [LTTE]".
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‘Colombo holds onto its sinking ship’

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 May 2011, 05:23 GMT]
The visiting US Asst. Secretary of State Robert Blake accepted the congratulations of Colombo for the death of Osama Bin Laden. At the same time, in the context of the UN panel report on Sri Lanka’s war crimes he has said, “International mechanisms can become appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations.” But Colombo’s diplomatic community, as seen from what Dayan Jayatilake has written on Tuesday, pins its last hope on making a comparison between its genocide and the imperialism of the USA, thinking that such conflations could save its sinking ship. What the Sinhala polity that is neither prepared to concede nor share sovereignty with Eezham Tamils fails to see is that a precedence has been set in South Asia where powers could supersede sovereignty to implement what they think is right, writes a political analyst in Jaffna.
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Moragoda appointed special foreign policy advisor to Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 12:19 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Minister Milinda Moragoda has been appointed special advisor on foreign policy matters to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. Moragoda is to assume duties with immediate effect, according to Presidential Secretariat sources.
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German Rights Group accuses Dias of war-crimes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 00:08 GMT]
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) Tuesday released a document which the group claimed "sub­s­tan­ti­ates al­le­ga­tions of war crimes com­mitt­ed by the 57 Di­vi­sion of the Sri Lankan Army un­der the com­mand of Ja­gath Dias." ECCHR appealed to the German Government to take the allegations levelled against Major General Dias' 57 Division seriously, and to seriously investigate his [Dias's] individual criminal responsibility. ECCHR also appealed to the German Government to withdraw the diplomatic visa of Major General Dias as well as declare him a persona non grata.
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Rathika becomes the first Eezham Tamil MP in Canada

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 May 2011, 23:19 GMT]
29-year-old Canadian Eezham Tamil Rathika Sitsabaiesen, hailing from Achchuveali in Jaffna, has been elected as member of parliament in Canada as a candidate of New Democratic Party (NDP) which has emerged as the leading opposition under the leadership of Jack Layton in the general elections held on May 02. Ms. Rathika now represents the multi-ethnic federal constituency of Scarborough- Rouge River, where Eezham Tamils make a significant section of the population. She is the first Tamil to be elected to the Canadian Parliament. Her successful election by a big margin through the opposition NDP ticket reflects the true feelings of Eezham Tamils in Canada towards establishments that slip in delivering justice to Eezham Tamils, commented Tamil diaspora circles in Canada.
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Ooraaththu'rai (Kayts), Pa'n'naiththu'rai, Matara

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 May 2011, 06:45 GMT]
The port of ships or small ships
The port of large boats or cargo boats
The big port
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ITAK urges internationally supervised negotiations with GoSL

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2011, 09:20 GMT]
Two veteran Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) politicians, C.V.K Sivagnanam and Mavai Senthirajah, on Sunday urged international supervision of a process that guarantees both a proper negotiation process and the implementation of results in the talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The two officials of ITAK, a key party of the TNA, in their address urged that both the governments of India and Tamil Nadu to play a sincere and constructive role to bring about an international supervision that should include China, USA and other world players. In the meantime, the Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) condemned the agents of the Sri Lankan state for forcing Tamils from all the districts in the North and East to take part in May Day demonstrations in Colombo, organized by Sinhala extremist elements against the UN Expert panel report.
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Sinhala extremist federation wants Rajapaksa to terminate talks with TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2011, 05:42 GMT]
The Federation of National Organizations, a coalition formed by ten Sinhala extremist groups in the south, has requested the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to terminate its talks with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement issued on May Day, coinciding with the protest show of Mahinda Rajapaksa against the UN Expert Panel report. Meanwhile, Tamils from several parts of the island were forcefully taken to Colombo by Sri Lankan military, paramilitary and other agents to showcase as people from all ethnicities were united in the protest against the UN. However, a dead silence prevailed in the SL occupied country of Eezham Tamils throughout the whole day on May Day.
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Sri Lanka war-crime alleged over killing of TECH Director

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 April 2011, 00:08 GMT]
Emerging evidence on Sri Lanka military targeting civilian leadership of Eezham Tamil development organizations at the end of Vanni war further reinforces the credible allegation that Sri Lanka's war crimes and crimes against humanity had genocidal intentions. C. Sivalingam Suhunan, alias Thilak, the executive director of TECH (The Economic Consultancy House), the flagship development NGO of the de-facto state of Tamil Eelam and a registered NGO in Sri Lanka, was one of the victims, according to a Senior official of TECH, who has identified Thilak's body in a recently leaked photograph taken by Sri Lankan soldiers. Mr. Suhunan had phoned his family last on 18 May, 2009 at 6:15 a.m. local time, informing that he was among a group of persons in civil clothes, going into Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled territory in Mullaiththeevu.
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Sri Lanka plans criminal show of ‘reconciliation’ in Colombo, Jaffna on May 1

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 20:51 GMT]
In a cruel show of ‘reconciliation,’ Sri Lanka’s occupying military in full swing has gone to the houses of released LTTE cadres, family members of the captives and ‘resettled’ Eezham Tamils living in open prisons in north and east and intimidated them to participate in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s demonstration show in Colombo on 1 May, to oppose any international justice coming to the crimes committed against them. A fleet of buses are organized to herd the people from Vanni and Jaffna to Colombo, after warning them of dire consequences if they don’t come. Meanwhile, a group of thugs has been brought from the south for violent demonstrations in the locality of UN offices in Jaffna city on May 1.
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‘Solheim transforms from peace facilitator to facilitator of war crimes indictment escape’

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 06:50 GMT]
Norway’s former peace facilitator to the island of Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, speaking to Norwegian state owned media NRK (Dagsnytt 18) on Wednesday, argued against any immediate international investigation on the war crimes in the island and said that it is only correct and fair to expect the Sri Lankan authorities to domestically investigate the UN panel material. According to him, this is what the ‘broader international community’ including nearly all the Western countries want. Solheim defended Ban Ki Moon, as his situation is difficult, accused the Tigers for not listening to his surrender call since five months before the end of the war, and suggested a new principle for international law that since Tiger leaders are now eliminated, domestic handling should be given a chance than ‘one-sided’ international indictment of Sri Lankan state.
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